Suicide

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Boruch Alan Bermowitz (a.k.a. Alan Vega) was born in the Bronx, New York on the 23rd of June 1938 as the son of a working-class diamond setter. He spent his childhood (with father Louie, mother Tillie and younger brother Robert) in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. In the late 50s he studied fine art and physics at Brooklyn College in Manhattan graduating in 1960.

By 1969 Vega is working, creating (light sculptures) and living at the “Museum: A Project of Living Artists”, a large workshop/performance warehouse art space on Waverly and Broadway funded by the New York State Council of the Arts. It’s here where in the summer of 1969 he meets Martin Rev, who performs there with his avant-garde jazz band Reverend B. Alan sees a concert by The Stooges at the Pavilion in Flushing Meadow Park in September 1969.

Martin Reverby (Rev) was born in the Bronx, on the 18th of December, 1947, as the son of a working-class union organizer. In 1969 Martin’s future wife Mari Montgomery is part of Julian Beck’s “The Living Theatre”. Alan, Martin along with Mari started experimenting with improvised music at the “Project of Living Artists”. One of the first songs they created is “Methedrine Mary”. When by mid 1970 Martin’s jazz band Reverend B ceased to exist Vega and Rev decided to form their own band. Alan is then 32 years old.

Early Suicide shows where often advertised in the classified section of local print papers such as Village Voice with ever changing self described genres for themselves.